Brian,
Thanks for taking this on! I hope you can share the results of your survey when it's complete. Our museum's head curator did a similar survey about 15 years ago and found the results to lack uniformity. I am especially curious which published standards and scholarly work inform current light-preservation policies.
In my experience, many museums still rely on Garry Thomson's 1986 edition of The Museum Environment, and I am excited to be part of a recent project to update that text with, The Museum Environment Revisited, edited by Webb and Smith. This work stands on the shoulders of other scholarly texts including David Saunders book, Museum Lighting, Stefan Michalski (CCI website on Light, UV and IR) and the Illuminating engineering Society's Recommended Practice for Museum Lighting.
The robust framework we've captures in Museum Environment Revisited allows for greater precision at each decision point - from establishing the significance of collections, to defining the role of color, to setting a preservation targets based on just noticeable differences. We provide new methods for determining light sensitivities of our collections and for balancing the needs of display and preservation for people with with a range of visual abilities.
These changes in lighting standards were driven by both the museum community's desire to expand access, and by advances in technology - specifically micro-fadometry, LEDs, and improved lighting controls.
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Scott Rosenfeld FIES
Lighting Designer
Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-25-2026 13:33
From: Bryan Hilley
Subject: Exhibition Lighting Survey Invitation
After years of not having written standards, our museum is reviewing its guidelines related to exhibition lighting. As part of this review I am soliciting information from other cultural institutions regarding object lighting policies. My goal for the survey is to gather a consensus on what standards institutions are following in terms of exhibition lighting. I'm interested in hearing what museums are currently implementing, or not, and the reasons guiding their decisions.
The data being collected will be used to inform internal decisions. Averaged data may be used in future external presentations. However all respondent answers will remain confidential.
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Best,
BRYAN HILLEY (he/him)
SENIOR ASSOCIATE REGISTRAR
NASHER MUSEUM OF ART AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
box 90732 durham nc 27708-0732
e bryan.hilley@duke.edu
t +1 919 684 5927
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